


Mike Townsend Is Alone In The Shadows

by YourGenderHere



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27290902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourGenderHere/pseuds/YourGenderHere
Summary: The Season 6 elections were the first time a player stepped into the Shadows.It was a huge deal.And Mike Townsend was the star of the show.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Mike Townsend Is Alone In The Shadows

Alone,  
in the Shadows,  
is Mike Townsend.

He volunteered to give himself up for something greater.  
The world hailed him as a hero for his courage.  
A credit to his team.  
He decided  
what he wanted  
to do.

Where would he go when the ritual was complete?  
He didn't know.  
No one did.  
But he knew  
what he had  
to do,  
and he was going to do it.

He was able to prepare for the journey.  
He was able to say goodbye to everyone who mattered to him.  
He was able to have one last cup of coffee first.  
He was able to have his friends and teammates there, right as it was about to happen.  
So it was scary. But he wasn't afraid.  
Then, when the moment of truth came:  
he did it.  
And it worked.

Elsewhere, a phone rang.  
A new being called out to the world.  
No one answered that call.  
No one stepped into the Shadows, unknowingly making room for him.  
He just sort of ended up on the Spies somehow.  
No one needed time to prepare for a journey, and didn't have it.  
No one needed a chance to say goodbye, and didn't get it.  
No one needed one last cup of coffee, and left without it.  
No one needed company to witness their departure, or wanted it.  
No one took a leap of faith into an unknown world before they were ready.  
No one became so, so afraid after learning where they'd gone, what they'd gotten themselves into.  
Because Mike Townsend was the only person who had to step into the Shadows,  
and Mike Townsend knew what he was going to do before he did it,  
and so Mike Townsend was able to get ready,  
and he did get ready,  
and then he did  
what he had  
to do.  
Someone made a song about it. It's so good.

Hotdogfingers is back. What's up with her?  
What's this debt? Who does she owe it to?  
Is Mike OK? How are the Garages handling this?

Rosales is pitching now, did you hear?  
The Spies basically wimdy'd the swap blessing.  
Plus, they got the clone.  
There was a blessing for a clone?  
The clone is evil! His vibes are rancid!  
At least he's batting. Not as bad as it could have been.  
The Spies are looking good this season.  
Their rotation is SO much better.  
Their pitching was really holding them back.  
Now there's one fewer dud dragging them down.  
They swapped out a loser for an ace.  
Where's the loser now?  
Who?  
I don't see any new Spies in the Hall.  
Wasn't it the Shadows?  
No, couldn't be.  
Mike Townsend was the one who stepped into the Shadows.  
The first and only player to do it.  
I'm so worried about him.  
He's going to be alone in there.

Wait. I think there WAS someone else.  
Who?  
Just some Spies pitcher.  
Oh, I see her stats. She was terrible.  
Never did anything notable.  
Didn't get much attention, or art, or fanfiction.  
Her Wiki page just has a placeholder image and a single paragraph of background.  
She wasn't one of the important Spies, like Rosales, or Velazquez, or Blackburn.  
The Spies fans probably won't miss her.  
They get to start working on lore for the cool new clone instead.  
Mike's the interesting one trapped in the Shadows.  
Where is his arc going to go?

Is there a way to get someone out of the Shadows?  
Doesn't look like it.  
Can we see how Mike is doing?  
Only if we peek behind the curtain.  
Don't tell me. Don't spoil it. But does he at least still exist?  
He does. And he's still on his team.  
Oh thank goodness.  
I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.  
There's nothing we can do to help Mike now,  
and Hotdogfingers is facilitating mass murder.  
We have more important things to worry about right now than getting people out of the Shadows.  
But one day, the smoke will clear.  
Things will be better.  
The right blessing will come up.  
And when that day comes, we'll work on getting Mike Townsend back.

And then they did.  
Mike Townsend stepped out of the Shadows.  
He got to leave.  
Everybody else? Still there.  
So many people have been sent into the Shadows since Mike was.  
It's hard to keep track of them all.  
Why even bother?  
They won't matter until they come back anyway.  
What matters is that our hero returned.  
The story is over.  
(Or it was, until the sequel.)  
No more loose ends to tie up.  
Time to move on.  
The End.


End file.
